The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will help us better understand our planet... pretty much anywhere!
This is because weather depends a lot on ocean temperature. Where the ocean is warm, more clouds form, and more rain falls.
El Niño events dramatically change the tropical Pacific Ocean. Water expands as it warms, causing the ocean surface to rise.
During El Niño events, weak winds let warm seawater travel east along the equator. This can increase storminess in places such as southern California.
El Niño impacts can reach well beyond the Pacific Ocean. The 2015-2016 helped trigger disease outbreaks in regions across the globe!
Exploring exotic French Polynesia is on many people's "bucket list." But one day, it may be impossible to visit some of these South Pacific islands.
One study predicts that over 30% of French Polynesia will be lost to rising sea level by the end of this century.
Where There's Water... There's SWOT!
Launch Date: 2021
Launch Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9
Altitude in orbit: 857 km (532.5 mi)
Swath: 120 km (75 mi) wide
Coverage: 77.6°N to 77.6°S with an average revisit time of 11 days
Partners: NASA and Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and United Kingdom Space Agency
Links and Other Information
- Tikehau Atoll, French Polynesia [NASA Earth Observatory]
- El Niño [NOAA]
- El Niño Theme Page [Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory]
- Weather Impacts of ENSO [National Weather Service]
- NASA/NOAA Study Finds El Niños are Growing Stronger [NASA-JPL/Caltech-NOAA]
- The Birth and Death of an El Niño [NASA Earth Observatory]
- El Niño: Pacific Wind and Current Changes Bring Warm, Wild Weather [NASA Earth Observatory]
- 2015-2016 El Niño Triggered Disease Outbreaks Across Globe [NASA Global Climate Change]
- 2015-2016 El Niño Triggered Disease Outbreaks Across the Globe [NASA Scientific Visualization Studio]
- Global Sea Surface Currents and Temperature [NASA Scientific Visualization Studio]
- 22-year Sea Level Rise - TOPEX/JASON [NASA Scientific Visualization Studio]
- Other images used under 123rf License Agreement [ID 96396413, 31848789]